Weather and Traffic

End of week weather: wild, wet and windy

We’ll be in the soup for the next couple of days. Warm tropical air began flowing in this morning and the National Weather Service says most areas will get soaked with at least 2 inches of rain through Friday night.

Winds were gusting over 30 mph from the south-southeast this morning in coastal Palm Beach County. But as they switch to the southwest later today and Friday, there’s a chance that some of the thunderstorms could start “training” – moving over the same soggy local areas.

If that happens, there’s a potential for up to 5 inches of rain in some neighborhoods, and that could cause localized flooding.

Forecasters are also warning of rip currents at the beach. So when all is said and done, it sounds like a good couple of days to stay inside and play pinochle.

As you might suspect, all of this is leading up to yet another cold front on Saturday morning. It’s going to cool off, but nothing record-breaking is in the cards. Low temperatures are expected to sink into the mid- and upper-50s Saturday night through Tuesday.

Highs will be in the mid-70s which, although cooler than normal, sounds fairly pleasant.

The long-term forecast is for temperatures to stay close to the normal range, which is 79 and 61. (Starting on the 19th, the normal high goes to 80 degrees for the first time.)

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Hurricane forecasters have been weighing with their predictions for the 2010 season. (See my Tuesday Weather Matters post.) Now, AccuWeather’s Joe Bastardi has come out with his initial forecast, and it’s not pretty.

He’s calling for 15 named storms, with seven of them making landfall. He predicts five hurricanes, with 2-3 major hurricane landfalls.

“This year has the chance to be an extreme season,” Bastardi says on the AccuWeather website. “It is certainly much more like 2008 than 2009 as far as the overall threat to the United States’ East and Gulf coasts.”

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This is the start of tornado season in the southern plains. Storm potential will move north as spring goes on.

Click here to see dramatic footage shot in Hammon, Okla. on March 8. Make sure your audio is activated.